ART+COM, ‘Petalclouds’, 2017. Image courtesy Changi Airport Group

Despite its compact size, Changi Airport’s newest terminal packs a surprising amount of cultural content into its two-storey, 25 metre-high building.

Drawing inspiration from the nation’s signature orchid, Terminal 4’s decor is largely centred around the motif — orchid petals appear on the marble flooring, the carpets, and on the ceiling as petal-shaped skylights. The clear artistic centrepiece of the terminal, a vast kinetic installation suspended above the Central Galleria, is designed to resemble orchid petals. Created by German-based studio ART+COM, the installation, titled ‘Petalclouds’, consists of six individual pieces spanning 200 metres along the Central Galleria, animated by a combination of light, movement and music.

Cutting-edge LED technology helps bring to life a 70-metre-long immersive wall that stretches across the Central Departure Security Screening Area as well as the Heritage Zone, a tribute to Singapore’s Peranakan heritage.

Heritage Zone. Image courtesy Changi Airport Group

The Heritage Zone features a central shophouse façade reflecting different architectural styles, ranging from 1880s Baroque to 1930s Modern Deco. In the middle of the façade, a 10m x 6m LED screen and digital wall transforms into a theatre for ‘Peranakan Love Story’, a six-minute performance of a romance set in 1930s Singapore. Developed in collaboration with Singaporean composer Dick Lee and starring local talents Adrian Pang, Koh Chieng Mun, Amy Cheng and Benjamin Kheng, the short film is centred around one of the most well-known events in Peranakan culture — the wedding.

Other pieces of art include ‘Les Oiseaux (The Birds)’ by French artist Cedric Le Borgne, comprising three bird sculptures made of fine stainless steel wires lit up in a subtle golden glow, and ‘Hey, Ah Chek!’, a figurative bronze sculpture by local artist Chong Fah Cheong that is a throwback to the 1950s.

Cedric Le Borgne, ‘Les Oiseaux (The Birds)’, 2017. Image courtesy Changi Airport Group

Visitors can get a first glimpse of Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 at its Open House from 7 to 20 August (registration now closed). The date for official commencement of operations has not yet been confirmed.

More information here.

ilyda chua